Updated: 13/10/2023 14:35 Issued: 13/10/2023, 14:30
Jerusalem – Speculation about the imminent start of Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip intensified today after the Israeli army called on hundreds of thousands of residents of the isolated area to leave its northern part. According to the UN spokesman, such a transfer of civilians would not be without catastrophic humanitarian consequences in a zone plagued by Israeli airstrikes and a lack of basic needs. Dozens of hostages apparently remain in Gaza, but according to the Palestinian radical movement Hamas, 13 prisoners have already died in the ongoing Israeli bombardment.
In recent days, Israel has been massing armed forces near the borders of the Gaza Strip in response to an attack by Hamas, which has controlled the area for more than 15 years. The militant group’s fighters have fired thousands of rockets into Israel since the weekend, most notably storming border communities last Saturday, killing more than 1,300 people, according to Israeli sources. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then vowed to “destroy and crush” Hamas.
The UN Secretary General’s spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, informed about the call to evacuate the north of the Gaza Strip earlier this night. According to him, the Israeli army demands the transfer of approximately 1.1 million people from Gaza City and its surroundings to the south of the Wadi Gaza (valley) by Saturday. The Gaza Strip has a total of about 2.3 million inhabitants, for whom the border crossing to Egypt is currently the only way out.
The Israeli military later issued a warning to residents of Gaza City, and its spokesman, Daniel Hagari, said that the evacuation of residents was the responsibility of Hamas. According to the AP agency, he appeals to civilians to stay at home and not succumb to “psychological warfare”. However, many people headed south, in cars, animal-drawn wagons or on foot, according to world media reports.
Palestinian authorities, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), report that there are many patients in hospitals in northern Gaza who need to be connected to machines to survive. “Moving these people would be a death sentence. Asking health workers to do so is beyond cruel,” said WHO spokesman Tarik Jašarevič.
Another wave of airstrikes hit the Gaza Strip overnight, after which Hamas responded with another rocket attack. The Israeli military said it had carried out about 750 airstrikes against the positions of the Islamist movement Hamas. According to Palestinian officials, over 1,500 people have been killed in the intensive bombardment over the past week, and according to Hamas, 13 of the 150 hostages abducted from Israel over the weekend were killed in airstrikes in the last day alone, according to Hamas.
The head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who met in Jordan with the American Secretary of State Antony Blinkenen, reacted to the news about the latest development of the conflict. According to Reuters, he told him that he rejects the forced displacement of Palestinians. Blinken met with King Abdullah II of Jordan. after he said during a visit to Israel that he wanted to prevent the spread of the conflict through diplomacy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that Israel has the right to self-defense, but the ground operation in Gaza threatens “serious consequences for all sides, especially completely unacceptable civilian casualties.” “The main thing now is to stop the bloodshed,” Putin said just days after a Russian missile killed 59 civilians in the village of Hroza, according to Ukrainian authorities, and Russian forces continued to attack Ukraine with missiles and drones.
In the meantime, Western representatives continue to express their support for Israel, the day after Blinken, the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin landed in the country, who had a meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other members of the government. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani are also present.
The Czech Republic completed the evacuation of its citizens from Israel this morning, when the last repatriation flight landed in Prague. A total of 228 people returned to the Czech Republic over the past six years, the Foreign Ministry said.
Israel Palestine UN diplomacy fight hospital
2023-10-13 12:35:00
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